"I didn't even find that out from Larry," Joe Glasscock said. "I know from a conversation with one of my sons."

The mayor called a news conference hours after Sneed was fired from the Red Bank Police Department on July 2. He said he never was told about the termination and accused other commissioners of influencing City Manager Chris Dorsey to fire Sneed for political reasons.

Dorsey denied those charges, and City Attorney Arnold Stulce wrote that "a significant amount of turmoil" in the police department led to Sneed's firing.

The mayor encouraged Sneed to fight back, which he did in a July 13 lawsuit that named the city and some of its officials and asked for $1.5 million in damages.

Glasscock and Commissioner Ruth Jeno are vocal Sneed supporters among the city's political leaders. The other three commissioners are named in the lawsuit, which accuses them of political conspiracy.

Barry Glasscock described Sneed as an "awesome tenant," and said, "I signed the lease for Larry, not Dad."

His father called the Sneeds "nice people" who "pay the rent."

"We have no reason not to rent to them. It's nobody's business, I think," Joe Glasscock said.

Barry Glasscock said his father comes into the family business once or twice a week, returning phone messages from Red Bank residents who think they're calling the mayor's home.

Both Glasscocks said the company also rents property to a Red Bank fireman.

Joe Glasscock said the rental connection is immaterial, and he believes Red Bank is recovering from the controversy surrounding Sneed's dismissal.

"I think it's bringing the city together," he said. "He turned that police department into a lean, mean, fighting machine."